shepherd's dictionary
What is the sound of oscypek, why is a woman in a shepherd’s hut a disaster and how does a shepherd deal with wolves? If you want to find out how the most famous cheese in Podhale is made and what the real life of highlanders looks like in the pastures, you should definitely visit our shepherd’s hut. This is a place created for every small and big fan of the Tatra Mountains and Podhale. The charm of highlander stories – guaranteed!
B for a shepherd's hut
However, before you visit us, we have a special “shepherd’s dictionary” for you. Let’s start with something simple:
Shepherd’s hut – it is nothing more than a wooden hut placed in the pastures, in which a shepherd with juhas stays during the sheep grazing period. The shepherd’s hut gives shepherds shelter from bad weather and is additionally used to process sheep’s milk into cheese – oscypek, bryndza or bundz.
Bunc, bundz – sheep’s milk cheese somewhat reminiscent of mozzarella is obtained in the initial stage of oscypek production. The most delicious is bundz from spring sheep grazing.
Bryndza – is a rennet sheep’s cheese, which is made from sour and ripe bundz, crumbled and heavily salted. Podhalańska bryndza is certified in the European Union.
Gołka – traditional cow cheese, which is prepared similarly to oscypek cheese.
Żętyca, Żentyca or Zyntyca?
Koleba, koliba, kolyba – a shelter for sheep shepherds with an open hearth, from which smoke comes out directly through the gaps between the log beams.
Klog – this is the name of the rennet added to highlander’s cheese – it used to be obtained from veal stomachs.
Oscypek – traditional smoked sheep’s milk cheese produced in Podhale.
Oscypiorka – a wooden mold used to make oscypek cheese with a pattern characteristic for each region and shepherd.
Puciska – a wooden vessel into which milk is poured during the production of oscypek cheese.
Żętyca, zentyca, zyntyca – whey made from rennet curdled sheep’s milk, obtained when making oscypek cheese and bundz.